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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
I will describe three insights into the transition from quantum to classical. After a brief discussion of decoherenceI will give (i) a minimalist (and decoherence-free) derivation of preferred states. Quantum jumps to such pointerstates define "events" (e.g., measurement outcomes). Enhanced role of information in quantum theory and its rolein the wavepacket collapse will be noted. Probabilities and (ii) Born's rule (pk = |ψk|2) can be then derived from thesymmetries of entangled quantum states. With probabilities at hand one can analyze information flows from thesystem to the environment in course of decoherence. They explain how (iii) robust classical reality arises, via Quan-tum Darwinism, from the quantum substrate by accounting for the evidence of objective existence of the pointerstates of quantum systems through the redundancy of their records in the environment. Taken together, and in theright order, these three advances (i)-(iii) elucidate quantum origins of the classical.
WHZ, Physics Today 67 (10), 44-50 (2014); Entropy 24 (11), 1520 (2022);
Decoherence and Quantum Darwinism: From Quantum Foundations to Classical Reality (Cambridge UniversityPress, forthcoming).
Bio: Wojciech Hubert Zurek is a physicist with expertise in quantum theory. His research focuses on quantum-to-classical transitions including decoherence and quantum Darwinism, and non-equilibrium dynamics concerningsymmetry breaking and the generation of defects during phase transitions (known as the Kibble-Zurek mechanism).Additionally, he made contributions to quantum information theory, particularly in formulating the no-cloning theo-rem (with Wootters).
Followed by Talks by Local LANL Scientists:
- 11:15 - 11:40 Tanmoy Biswas, Catalytic Enhancement in the Performance of the Microscopic Two-Stroke Heat Engine
- 11:40 - 12:05 Francesco Caravelli, Honey, I Shrunk the Heat Uncertainty Relationship!
- 12:05 - 12:30 Luis Pedro García-Pintos, Resilience-Runtime Tradeoff Relations in Quantum Algorithms